1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to syringes and, more particularly, to a syringe having a primary reservoir and a secondary reservoir for injecting a secondary solution subsequent to injection of a primary solution from the primary reservoir. The present disclosure also relates to a method of supplying a flush/lock solution and an antimicrobial solution to a catheter assembly using a single syringe.
2. Background of Related Art
Intravenous or I.V. catheters which are inserted into a patient's vasculature, e.g., vein, to facilitate a variety of different medical procedures, including blood withdrawal, medication delivery, dialysis, etc., over an extended period of time are well known in the art. Such I.V. catheters minimize the pain and discomfort to a patient associated with multiple needle injections which may be required during a hospital stay.
Syringe assemblies are commonly used to inject fluids, e.g., medication, into an I.V. catheter. Typically, after a medication has been injected from a syringe assembly into the I.V. catheter, a flush solution is injected into the I.V. catheter to force any medication remaining in the catheter into the patient.
One problem currently associated with the use of a syringe assembly to inject fluid into an I.V. catheter is that attachment of the syringe assembly to the I.V. catheter may introduce contaminants into the I.V. catheter or the reusable valve structure of the catheter, which may lead to infection in the patient.
It is known to inject an anti-microbial solution into an indwelling catheter to guard against infection. However, the injection of an anti-microbial solution into I.V. catheter requires the attachment of a second syringe to the I.V. catheter which further increases the risk of infection to the patient.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the medical arts for a syringe assembly which can function to flush an I.V. catheter assembly while minimizing the risk of infection to a patient.